Conventional turbomachines, such as turbines, compressors, and compact motor-compressors, are often utilized in a myriad of applications and industrial processes that expose the turbomachines and/or components thereof to extreme operating conditions (e.g., high temperatures and mechanical stress). Accordingly, the turbomachines and/or components thereof are often fabricated from materials, such as metals and alloys, which provide the required strength and stiffness to endure these extreme operation conditions. For example, conventional turbomachines and/or components thereof are often fabricated from carbon and stainless steels, which provide high tensile strength, ductility, and stiffness.
As advancements are made in these industrial processes, however, production requirements for the turbomachines are often heightened. In many cases, to meet the heightened production requirements, the size or dimensions of the turbomachines and/or components thereof are often increased. Increasing the size of the turbomachines and/or components thereof, however, results in a corresponding increase in mass due to the high density of the metals and alloys, which may be detrimental to efficient operation and production of the turbomachines. The effects of the increased mass may be exacerbated in turbomachines installed offshore. Additionally, increasing production may require subjecting the turbomachines and/or components thereof to increased operating temperatures and/or mechanical stresses. Accordingly, the materials used to fabricate the turbomachines and/or components thereof must be capable of enduring the increased temperatures and/or mechanical stresses.
In view of the foregoing, attempts have been made to discover or create lightweight materials having properties (e.g., strength and/or stiffness) that meet or exceed those utilized in the fabrication of the conventional turbomachines and/or components thereof (e.g., carbon and stainless steel). These attempts have resulted in the development of various composites and/or alloys, such as metal matrix composites. Metal matrix composites may include a metal matrix having one or more reinforcing materials dispersed therein. The properties of the metal matrix composites may be tailored by modifying the metal matrix and/or the reinforcing materials. For example, to fabricate a metal matrix composite having a low density and high strength, a low density metal, such as aluminum, may be combined with a high strength reinforcing material, such as carbon fibers. Recently, attempts have been made to utilize carbon nanotubes as the reinforcing material, due to the improved mechanical properties they exhibit over other materials, such as carbon fibers. In addition to the metal matrix composites incorporating the carbon nanotubes, attempts have also been made to create polymeric composite materials incorporating the carbon nanotubes. The majority of the attempts to incorporate the carbon nanotubes, however, have not been successful or have resulted in composite materials with properties that are inadequate for the manufacture of turbomachines and/or components thereof. Additionally, the utilization of these materials in the manufacture of the turbomachines and/or components thereof has not been successful. For example, the utilization of these carbon nanotube composite materials has not been successfully scaled for the large-scale manufacture of turbomachines and/or components thereof.
What is needed, then, are systems and methods for fabricating carbon nanotube composite materials that exhibit properties adequate for industrial, large-scale manufacture of turbomachines and/or components thereof.